Quick Start Guide

http://www.linuxfoundation.org/collaborate/workgroups/openprinting/database/
databaseintro
The OpenPrinting home page with the printer database. The database shows the
latest Linux support status. However, a Linux distribution can only integrate the
drivers available at production time. Accordingly, a printer currently rated as
“perfectly supported” may not have had this status when the latest openSUSE
version was released. Thus, the database may not necessarily indicate the correct
status, but only provide an approximation.
http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/
The Ghostscript Web page.
/usr/share/doc/packages/ghostscript/catalog.devices
List of included drivers.
14.1 The Workow of the Printing System
The user creates a print job. The print job consists of the data to print plus information
for the spooler, such as the name of the printer or the name of the printer queue,
and optionally, information for the lter, such as printer-specic options.
At least one dedicated printer queue exists for every printer. The spooler holds the
print job in the queue until the desired printer is ready to receive data. When the
printer is ready, the spooler sends the data through the lter and back-end to the
printer.
The lter converts the data generated by the application that is printing (usually
PostScript or PDF, but also ASCII, JPEG, etc.) into printer-specic data (PostScript,
PCL, ESC/P, etc.). The features of the printer are described in the PPD les. A PPD
le contains printer-specic options with the parameters needed to enable them on
the printer. The lter system makes sure that options selected by the user are en-
abled.
If you use a PostScript printer, the lter system converts the data into printer-specic
PostScript. This does not require a printer driver. If you use a non-PostScript printer,
the lter system converts the data into printer-specic data. This requires a printer
driver suitable for your printer. The back-end receives the printer-specic data from
the lter then passes it to the printer.
14.2 Methods and Protocols for Connecting Printers
There are various possibilities for connecting a printer to the system. The conguration
of the CUPS print system does not distinguish between a local printer and a printer
connected to the system over the network. For more information about the printer
connection, read the article CUPS in a Nutshell in the Support Database at http://
en.opensuse.org/SDB:CUPS_in_a_Nutshell.
164 Start-Up